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Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was sentenced to 30 to 60 years behind bars on Tuesday. Before sentencing Sandusky read a rambling statement and failed to acknowledge the pain of his victims. NBC10 s Lu Ann Cahn reports. (Published Tuesday, Oct 9, 2012)

"For the rest of your life," Judge John Cleland told the 68-year-old Sandusky as he read the terms of the sentence.

Jerry Sandusky Arrives for Sentencing

Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky arrives to court in Bellefonte, Pa. on October 9, 2012 to be sentenced for 45 counts of child sex abuse. (Published Tuesday, Oct 9, 2012)

Sandusky, who coached Penn State's defense for 30 years and ran a charity for troubled children, was sentenced on 45 counts of child sex abuse, a scandal that rocked the Penn State football program and the university itself.

Sandusky Facing 10 - 400 Years in Prison

The convicted child molester and former Penn State Football coach will be sentenced Tuesday. (Published Tuesday, Oct 9, 2012)

"I feel a need to talk not from arrogance, but from my heart," Sandusky said in the courtroom. "I didn't do these alleged disgusting acts."

"I've been confined to a small room. I meditate, eat, read, write, all in a small room. ... You find out who's with you in the fourth quarter. Who'll go through the hurt and the pain, and get you where you want to go."

Sandusky's Statement From Jail

Jerry Sandusky reads a statement from jail on the eve of his sentencing. He calls the allegations false and says he did not commit the "alleged, disgusting acts." Sandusky will be sentenced tomorrow after being convicted of 45 counts of child sex abuse. Read full article: Sandusky Slams "False Allegations" in Statement from Prison (Published Monday, Oct 8, 2012)

Legal experts say Judge Cleland could have imposed a much stiffer sentence on Sandusky but instead chose to stick with sentencing guidelines. Matt Casey, an attorney for Victims 3, 7 and 10, spoke to NBC10 shortly after the verdict was announced.

“They have confidence that Judge Cleland took his obligations seriously. Jerry Sandusky is never going to get out of prison. If you walk through the individual accounts there may be some sentences that we might take issue with but in aggregate the man is going to die in prison -- that he will never be able to do this to anyone else, that probably was the most important part of this for our clients, that he would never be able to do it to anyone else," said Casey.

Prosecutor Joseph McGettigan said that Sandusky used his charity, Second MIle, as a "victim factory."

"He selected the most vulnerable to prey on," McGettigan said. "If the words existed that would undo the harm and pain, I would say them."

After the sentencing, Penn State President Rodney Erickson issued a statement saying in part, "While today's sentence cannot erase what has happened, hopefully it will provide comfort to those affected by these horrible events and help them continue down the road to recovery."

In his audio statement and his statement in court, Sandusky continued to deny what he called "false allegations." He said his wife Dottie is the only person he's ever had sex with and that he was brought down by a web of conspirators who wanted him convicted. He also blamed his downfall on one of the victims.

"There is another side to this," said Joseph Amendola, Sandusky's attorney. "We have a gentleman who, by many accounts, was a generous, kind, giving person. It's a sad day for everyone."

Sandusky oversaw Penn State's powerful defense for 30 years. He was accused of preying on young boys whom he met through his Second Mile Charity, a group devoted to helping under-privileged children.

The allegations that he raped some of these boys, forcing himself on one in a Penn State locker room shower and another in his own basement, shocked the Penn State community, where Sandusky had been revered in the community. Through his charity, he would take kids to football games, helped them find their way through tough lives and even adopted them.

The late head coach Joe Paterno, arguably the most important figure in modern Penn State history, was fired amid allegations he did not properly report concerns about Sandusky to law enforcement officials. Two other top Penn State officials, athletic director Tim Curley and senior vice president Gary Schultz, have yet to face trial on charges they lied to a grand jury about their knowledge of Sandusky's crimes.